Various procedures exist for determining the cause of a patient's allergic reactions or even that an allergic reaction exists. Such tests usually involve the use of a series of minor dermal inoculations with small doses of common sources of allergies and an inspection to see if there is a local skin reaction. Oftentimes determination of the source for an allergy is much less straightforward and a source of allergy is not as forthcoming. Under such circumstance the patient is advised to keep logs of lifestyles and conditions during occurrences of untoward reactions in order to try to relate the reaction to foods or drinks being ingested, inhalants, tactile irritants, ambient conditions and the like, which are or may be present during adverse reactions. This procedure is utilized in an effort to narrow down, over time, the scope of suspected sources. This is however, an onerous task which is often not scrupulously (or even properly) followed by patients. It is also particularly difficult with respect to children who are unable to follow directions properly and usually requires adult supervision (which may not even be at hand) to ascertain conditions and to help with recordal.
In addition, some discomfort conditions might not even be allergic reactions yet they may be noted as such. Even allergic reactions are not consistent in occurrence and may in fact require a confluence of factors before a trigger point is reached. Thus, a cat's presence may or may not trigger an allergic reaction depending on other atmospheric conditions and ventilation. Record keeping, according to the prior art, is onerous and often difficult to reconcile and evaluate.